


Hope

by Shyspyder



Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Din is the Mand'alor, Gen, Happy Ending, I don't go here so there ARE timeline mistakes, Kylo Ron who????, POV Din Djarin, POV Grogu | Baby Yoda, Pre-Sequel trilogy, Two many POVs for a 2000-word fic, din not knowing anything about a star war, happy reunion, my family is arguing over christmas turkey and im writing bad star wars fanfic, season 3 au i guess, takes place 15 years in the future
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:01:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28296465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shyspyder/pseuds/Shyspyder
Summary: 15 years after the S2 finale, Grogu and Din Djarin re-unite.
Relationships: Din Djarin & Grogu | Baby Yoda
Comments: 18
Kudos: 223





	Hope

**Author's Note:**

> I should give warning: I still haven’t seen TROS (which I think is very sexy of me by the way) and I’m only a casual star wars fan at best. At the very least, the timeline absolutely does not make sense. I decided that I don’t care. After all, what is fanfic if not a self-indulgent pain-killer paired with the wookiepedia quick links tab and fantasynamegenerators.com? Happy Holidays y’all.

**GROGU**

Grogu remembered what it was like to travel quickly. Moving from one place to another. Scouting out each refuel stop along the way. It was a different sort of peace. Not knowing what to expect day in and day out, but knowing that a few small things would always remain the same.

This was different though. There was no peace in what was happening.

He remained perched in Sanoswa’s arms as they moved through the galaxy, struggling to maintain his balance with the handcuffs that decorated both of their wrists.

“We’ll be alright,” she whispered to him, her fingers curling softly over his ears. He knew it was more for her benefit than for his. He peered at the holster on her hip that once held her lightsaber, and cooed in response.

It had been fifteen years since he traveled with Din and the others. There was a sense of safety then that he didn’t have now. A sense of knowing that he would always be taken care of in the end, no matter how frightening things were now.

There was none of that this time. He looked up at their captors. The two men wearing familiar helmets. These Mandalorians shared none of the qualities of the Mandalorians he had known. They had shot his friends when they tried to escape. Only he and Sanoswa remained, and they certainly did not treat them with the same care and respect as he had grown used to.

He curled in on himself and closed his eyes. He liked Luke Skywalker and the others. He trusted them. But that was only because Din trusted them.  _ He was gone now. That was years ago.  _

The Jedi had foolishly thought they were safe. 

It had been only a few years since they escaped Ben Solo’s betrayal, fleeing into the galaxy. Only a small handful of them had managed to get away. Padawans and Jedi trainees. Scholars and academics and warriors and children from all over the galaxy. The Knights of Ren had killed most of them, but a few were able to slip away in the chaos. Grogu among them, huddled in the corner and hiding his powers in a way that was all too familiar.

Before the capture, they had spent about a year on Hoth. But it was a barren planet at best, and utterly inhospitable at worst. It was no place to learn the force. So they left, hopping from planet to planet until they could find something safe from curious eyes.

They found something eventually. A forested planet with locals who did not mind. The hope was that they could settle down long enough to train themselves, waiting for Luke to sense their presence through the Force.

It wasn’t much, but the hope of it was enough. They were left alone. Travelers came through every once in a while, but none of them questioned their presence.

Grogu became stronger with the force. Not as strong as he could be, but he was beginning to remember his lessons again. He was able to move objects more quickly and easily. The instinct to hide his powers to protect himself was still there (and it likely always would be), but his ability to determine safe and unsafe was stronger.

For example, he knew that these Mandalorians were not safe.

It was hard at first. He looked at their helmets and he wanted to see something else. But he could tell right away that none of them were Din. Even before they threatened the other Jedi, it was clear.

Grogu was nervous. It had been such a long time since he had been in such danger. This time, there was no Luke Skywalker to rescue him.

And there was no Din Djarin either. 

He and Sanoswa were the only ones left. He squeezed his eyes shut and turned away, burying his forehead into her chest. 

_ Don’t be afraid _ . The voice echoed in his mind. It was so hard not to be.

“General Hux is waiting at the base,” one said to the other. It was a small ship. Enough for the two of them to hear everything they said to one another. 

The other Mandalorian grunted. “Does he know that…”

“...that the rest of them are dead or gone? No. But I think he’ll be happy with what we have.”

“I hope so.”

More silence. One of them turned towards Grogu. He shrunk away from his helmeted gaze.

“What do you think that thing is, anyway?”

“I have no idea. Creeps me out a bit, though. Those beady eyes--”

Grogu blinked.

“--Won’t matter soon though, will it?”

“What do you think they’ll do with it?”

“Kylo Ren killed the rest of them, didn't he? I would expect he’ll do the same with them.”

Grogu froze in Sanoswa’s arms. He had heard this conversation before. Years ago. But that was a different time, and that was a different Mandalorian. 

“That’s pretty messed up. Let's try to get out of there as quick as possible, yeah?”

“You don’t have to tell me twice.”

They were silent after that. He could feel Sanoswa tighten her grip around him, and he burrowed closer. 

“It will be ok, little one,” she said nervously, repeating herself from before. He cooed, voice garbled against the front of her tunic. He felt her shift slightly, head tilting up and glaring at the Mandalorians. “Where are you taking us?” She hissed.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said.

“I think it does,” she replied. “What kind of reward are they giving you for this? The Jedi still have friends in the galaxy. I can name at least ten planets that would give you double what they're offering.”

One Mandalorian looked to the other. “Do you think she’s right?”

“Maybe, maybe not.” He paused, and then shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. I’m not interested in having another target on my back.” 

Another lapse in silence. He reached over behind the passenger chair. Grogu felt Sanoswa’s arms tense around him. Instead of a weapon, he tossed a blanket in their direction. “We’ll be landing in a few minutes. Cover that thing up, I don’t want to risk anyone seeing. You two are precious cargo, after all. Wouldn’t want you to get hurt.”

**DIN**

“You said that they’re set to arrive this afternoon?” He asked.

“You doubt my word?”

He was silent. There was no reply that would have satisfied him. Instead, he turned back towards the hallway, waiting for the disgraced so-called Mandalorians to arrive with their cargo.

It was the locals from some unnamed backwater planet who reported them. Two men wearing Beskar who broke the Hunter Code. The planet was backwater enough to assume safety, but not so backwater that the locals wouldn’t be able to recognize what they saw and run to the nearest outpost.

They had killed one of their own in a previous hunt. Val-Das Chorn. Din had known him personally. He was one of the first foundlings he trained after re-taking Mandalore. The first to become a member of the Guild. 

He was dead, murdered by criminals over a hunt.

The First Order hadn’t known this when they hired them, and even if they had, they likely wouldn’t care. But it made Din wonder. What kind of hunt would have been worth killing one of their own over? What kind of prize was worth the bounty?

He had to see this for himself. Not only to look them in the eye, but to see what was going on. The First Order was new, barely a whisper in the galaxy. But they were growing more and more powerful by the day.

“What planet are they coming from?” He asked instead.

General Hux glared at him. “None of your concern, Mandalorian. I will allow you to do as you see fit with them _after_ they arrive and deliver what they promised. The First Order hired them to capture our enemies. I don’t care for much else beyond that.” 

Din frowned and turned away. 

He was not wearing his helmet. He hadn’t worn his helmet since he faced off against Moff Gideon. And, by extension, since he became the Mand’alor. Part of him had hoped that taking it off then would mean that he could pass it off to Bo-Katan, but that hadn’t been the case. 

Instead he was here. Bargaining with a First Order General so he could deal with the traitors himself. 

He looked to the side of him. There were only a few stormtroopers. Maybe a handful. It was a small station. Barely even one at all, but it was close. 

Din frowned. Whatever job they had taken, it must have been a valuable one.

“Open the gate!” Came a cry from above. He stepped forward so that he was at Hux’s side, turning his face up towards the starship as it lowered onto the platform. 

The traitors arrived swiftly, the cargo in tow behind them. They both froze when they saw him, faces obscured by the helmets. It did not matter. Din narrowed his eyes and stood his ground.

They stood before him, arms slack. “Mand’alor…” one whispered. He felt the edge of his lip curl up in response and his right hand hover over the darksaber. He did not say anything.

Instead, his eyes drifted to the woman beside them.  _ The cargo _ . She was small, with wide eyes and a fierce expression set in her face. There was a small bundle in her hands, but Din did not have time to think too much about it. His attention snapped back to General Hux, who stepped forward willfully. 

“I assume you had no trouble?” General Hux spoke in a low voice.

The two Mandalorians looked uneasily between Din and Hux, unsure how to begin. At last, the elder of the two tossed something towards him.

“This belonged to the girl,” he said. 

Din wouldn’t have known what it was, if he had not seen something like it before. The holster on the girl’s hip. The cylinder that would have fit just perfectly, now balanced in Hux’s hands. 

He had no business with a thing like that.

“She’s a Jedi…” Din breathed. 

It all made sense. The bounty. Why they had deemed it worth killing Val-Das. The  _ look _ in General Hux’s eye. They wanted the Jedi gone. They were the last remnants of a time that could have defeated the First Order. They were probably the only ones left who could truly face off against them and _win_ , “whisper in the galaxy” as they were. 

But that meant…

This eyes zeroed in on the blanket in her arms.

And he acted. ****

**GROGU**

Grogu heard his voice before he saw him. 

“She’s a Jedi,” he said. 

It was the same voice he remembered, all those years ago. He beat his claws weakly against Sanoswa’s forearms, his wails muffled by the blanket. She shifted slightly so that he was hidden from view, but his wails only increased. Why was no one listening to him?

The noise was quick and deafening. Blasters sounded off on either side of them. Whether they hit anyone or not, he could not tell. All he could think about was that voice.  _ He knew he would come for him! _

It did not last long. The blasters on either side of him continued, but there was a silence on the other end. Grogu wailed again. He could use the force. He could stop them. He just needed to know what was happening.

The  _ whoosh _ of a lightsaber. Not Sanoswa’s, though. This was a different kind of lightsaber. He recognized it immediately, the memory of being cradled in Din’s arms as he held it in the other. The suddenness and intensity of the sound was enough for him to stop wailing, the sound choked in his throat in surprise.

He felt Sanoswa moving, stepping to the left of the room. “Stay here, little one,” she murmured. “It will be alright.” 

She was gone, her warmth leaving him cold and curled up in the corner. At last, he was able to move the blankets and peer above the edge.

Something settled in him when he saw Din. His face was curled in rage, wielding the darksaber as he slashed at the other Mandalorians. They were defeated in an instant, no match against his abilities. 

Sanoswa was on the other side of him in an instnat. She had gotten her own lightsaber back and had managed to take down the rest of the stormtroopers. 

“Where’s Hux?” She hissed.

Din shook his head. “Gone,” he said. “He left as soon as I killed the traitors. This is a small base. It was a risk for him to come here. He wasn’t expecting me.”

He stored the darksaber away. Grogu cooed. Without even thinking, he reached his arms up.

He met his eyes. There was a moment in which no one said anything. And then Din’s face crumbled, and began to run towards the other side of the room. He was stopped before he could reach him. Sanoswa, stepping in between them with her lightsaber in hand.

“Stay away from him,” she snarled. His eyes widened and he opened his mouth to say something, but Grogu interrupted with a loud wail.  _ Buir! _

He was there. He was so  _ close _ . 

Sanoswa looked between the two of them. Something seemed to snap into place. The realization that _ they knew each other _ . Her eyes widened and she stepped to the side. 

Din rushed forward, pulling Grogu into his chest. His wailing finally ceased as he reached up with his claws, reaching for his chest and pulling at the Beskar. 

He could feel his tears on his forehead. He reached up for his cheek, just as he had all those years ago. Din closed his eyes tightly and leaned in.

“I missed you,” he said. But his voice came out choked. “I heard rumors of what they did to the Jedi, but I--” his voice cut off. “I didn’t want to believe it. I’m sorry I didn’t come for you.”

Grogu tried his best to convey everything he could through what soft noises he could make, nuzzling at him with his forehead.  _ It’s ok. I understand _ . 

Din seemed to understand. Tears filling up his eyes once more as he pulled him into his chest. 

“It will be ok, little one. I’m here.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Yell with me on Tumblr: [shyspyderr](https://shyspyderr.tumblr.com/)


End file.
